Definition of "profit" []

• An advantageous gain or return; benefit. (noun)
• The return received on a business undertaking after all operating expenses have been met. (noun)
• The return received on an investment after all charges have been paid. Often used in the plural. (noun)
• The rate of increase in the net worth of a business enterprise in a given accounting period. (noun)
• Income received from investments or property. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Ford made a pre-tax profit* in each of its operating regions, but the news was especially encouraging in North America, where it recorded an operating profit of $1.2 billion, a $3.2 billion improvement from a year ago."
• "It all boils down to ratings/commercial ad rates which - as is the case with the for-profit health industy - means profit$."
• "If the state averages $100,000,000 in profit from the stores per year, what does it matter if it gets $100,000,000 from the stores or from a special sales tax on booze sold by private individuals that balances out to $100,000,000?"